Night Night
How Stephen Curry climbed back to the mountain top of the NBA
The year was 2019, following one of the most devastating finals losses following injuries to two of the Warriors' best players (Kevin Durant and Klay Thompson). The Toronto Raptors lifted the Larry O'Brien trophy for the first time in their history and the country of Canada stood up. What followed next was an even worse off-season. Kevin Durant left the Golden State Warriors for the Brooklyn Nets joining Kyrie Irving forming a dynamic duo that looked to rival for the title. In addition, the Lakers had traded for Anthony Davis and the Clippers signed Kawhi Leonard killing Toronto's fairy tale season. The Competitiveness of the league had just increased exponentially but could the Warriors handle the increased competition?
The Dark Days
The short answer is no. The beginning of the 2019-2020 season saw the warriors start 1-2 while getting blowout by 28 points from a rebuilding OKC Thunder. But it was still so early in the season that hope wasn't lost until October 30th 2019. While playing the Phoenix Suns the Warriors were down by 29 points in the third quarter, the game was already done in what would be another loss to a rebuilding team with no title aspirations, but not as if the incoming loss was bad enough, Stephen went for a scope layup between Aron Baynes and Kelly Oubre Jr which resulted in Aron Baynes falling full force onto Curry's Left hand. At this point the season was over within the space of 4 months the Golden State Warriors had lost their 3 best players (1 leaving for another team and 2 with serious long-term injuries).
What followed was one of the worst seasons in the Golden State Warriors' history finishing with a 15-50 record. This made them the worst team in the NBA that year and was one of the most dramatic falls for a team in NBA history. However there was some hope, No.2 pick James Wiseman joined the warriors bringing much-needed youth to the team, plus Steph and Klay were looking to make their return the next Year.
Curry Returns but the Warriors struggle
The beginning of the 2021 season saw improvements for the Warriors but they were still nowhere near their glory days. A 20-20 record was middling in the Western Conference with a great defense and effort but one of the worst offenses in the league. This was made even more surprising with Curry having his best statistical season of his career completing carrying their offense to the best of his ability. They finished the year with a late run of victories improving their record to 39-33 good enough for 8th in the west. Under the new play-in tournament however, they are still not guaranteed to make the playoffs. What followed was one of the best games of the season against the Lakers which resulted in a heart-breaking 3-pointer from Lebron James to kill the game off. This led to a loser goes home game against the Memphis Grizzles and despite being heavily favored lost in a close game due to a heroic effort from Ja Morant.
Back to their best
The following off-season saw some minor but important improvements, a trade with the Timberwolves from the year before provided the Warriors with the two lottery picks (No. 7 and 14), and they selected Jonathon Kuminga and Moses Moody a versatile wing with high potential and a smooth shooting guard. Additionally, Otto Porter Jr signed on a minimum which was a brilliant pick-up that fit with the Warriors' playstyle perfectly. Finally, the return of Andre Igoudala, a former finals MVP that had been a core member of the Warriors former championship teams.
What followed was incredible, a white-hot start to the season behind Curry’s play, the Warriors went 18-2 in the first 20 games. Jordan Poole was a breakout star and another prime example of how excellent the Warriors' development of young players is. The defense had kept its quality from the year prior but this time they had the offensive to match. Andrew Wiggins saw a small career resurgence becoming one of the best 3 and D players in the league while Draymond Green was playing elite-level defense once again. With 28 games to go the warriors were 41-13 looking to push the Suns out of the No.1 seed and have home court advantage against the whole of the Western Conference. However, a few bad performances here and there along with an injury to Curry meant that the Warriors were only able to finish with a 53-29 record. This meant the Warriors entered the playoffs as the No.3 and with Curry coming back for the first game of the playoffs, who knows what could happen
The 2022 Playoffs
First Round against the Nuggets
The warriors looked back to their best against a Nuggets team that looked out of their depths when dealing with the small ball lineup from the warriors. Despite a herculean effort from the reigning MVP Nikola Jokic wasn’t good enough to stop the new An easy 4-1 Gentleman’s sweep and swiftly moving onto the next round.
Second Round against the Grizzles
Next a familiar face, the team that eliminated them the year prior, the Grizzles. Grizzles had seen a much improved season with a huge jump from Ja Morant winning the MIP (Most improved player) this season along with improvements from Desmond Bane along with a brilliant culture of hard work and the next man up mentality. The first 2 games showed how competitive this series would be, both were decided in the last few moments of the game. However, game 3 shifted the series in the way of the warriors, Poole stepped up again dropping 27 points in a blowout win along with an injury to Ja Morant ending his series early. The Grizzlies were still able to hold on and take game 5 but without Ja, the series was over. 4-2 to the warriors onto the WCF.
The Western Conference Finals
This series was all about scoring both teams with some of the best shooters in the league, this series was surprisingly easy for the Warriors followed by more incredible play from the now three splash brothers in Steph, Klay, and Poole. Despite Luka outplaying Curry for the series, unfortunately for the Mavericks, the Warriors just had the better team. 4-1 to the Warriors which saw them reach their 6th finals in 8 years.
The NBA Finals
Back in the finals, the warriors had a tall task ahead, the Boston Celtics the team that killed the Brooklyn Nets in shocking fashion, that had beat the defending NBA champions in the Milwaukee Bucks, and the league's best player Giannis Antetokounmpo (He just is it’s not a debate) and then a Miami heat team that had all the depth and experience from some of the leagues best veterans. A 50:50 series if there ever was one. The Warriors prevailed once again going down twice in the series what followed was spectacular. A 43-point performance from Stephen Curry prevented the Warriors from going 3-1 down in the series. His star showed with a brilliant finals performance while facing the best guard defender in the league in Marcus Smart. But the team did their part too, phenomenal defense shutting down Jayson Tatum and Jayden Brown facing a high number of turnovers was vital to the Warriors success. 4-2 to the Warriors and new NBA champions were crowned.
The silence
Basketball as a sport is brutal, the athletes receive an incredible amount of criticism due to the expectations that come with the sport. Due to the restrictions on the salary cap, signing players, and the draft it sees a high variance compared to other sports. A team can go from the best in the world to the bottom of the due to a few bad decisions or just being unlucky, players have increased power to decide their career path meaning that if they don’t want to stay with a team they don’t have to. The warriors were victims of this a single argument between Kevin Durant and Draymond Green lead to a series of events that led to one of the league's best players leaving, along with more injuries than they could handle. The Warriors were a shell of their former selves. But a strong self-belief and the brilliance of one man have lifted them from the depths and brought them back to the mountain top. They are now looked at as one of the best dynasties of all time, a team renown for adapting and fighting no matter the difficulty.
Following the finals the praise for Curry has been the highest it’s ever been, the doubt and questions he had received following the past 2 years was ridiculous, could he win without KD? Can he carry a team on his back? Will the Warriors reach their former glory? He answered them loudly and put his haters to sleep. Night Night.
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